Minnesota State football coach accused of creating child porn

Todd Hoffner faces 2 charges of child pornography for 3 videos on his cellphone of his own children naked.

Todd Hoffner was charged Wednesday, Aug. 22 with two counts related to child pornography after authorities said they found nude images of his children on his cellphone.

Minnesota State University's head football coach was accused of creating child pornography when nude videos of his children were found on his cellphone, police said.




Todd Hoffner, 46, was charged with two counts of child pornography on Wednesday. For allegedly using minors in a pornographic work he could serve five years. For possessing a pornographic work involving minors he could serve 10 years.

Hoffner’s attorney, Jim Fleming, arguing at the bail hearing disagreed with the depiction of the videos as pornographic, saying, “This could very well be seen as something completely different than what they are assuming,” according to the Mankato Free Press.


The three videos in question allegedly feature Hoffner's children, two girls and one boy. The first shows the children standing with their backs to the camera with towels on. They drop the towels and face the camera as an adult male voice addresses them. The children call this man "dad."

The criminal complaint filed in the Blue Earth County District Court claims that, in the first video, the boy "fondles his penis" and the two girls "bend over with their buttocks facing the camera and pull their buttocks apart, exposing their anuses toward the camera."

The second video allegedly shows the girls dancing naked and the boy wearing only a football helmet, according to the criminal complaint.

The third video allegedly shows a girl sleeping. An adult male voice tells her to go to "go potty." The camera reportedly records the child's buttocks, wearing underwear, as she walks to the bathroom.

Detective Jerry Billiar of the Blue Earth Country Sheriff's Office confirmed the identities of the children with photos on Facebook.

Eagle Lake Police Chief Phil Wills walks into home of Minnesota State University head football coach Todd Hoffner, while assisting in an investigation of the coach Tuesday, Aug. 21. Hoffner was booked into the Blue Earth county jail on Tuesday afternoon on charges related to child pornography.

Police arrested him at his home on Tuesday.

The cell phone was initially uncovered because Hoffner reportedly brought it to Julie Bruggeman of the university's IT department. The phone was not functioning properly. Bruggeman gave the phone to her supervisor Jerry Jeffries, who backed up the data from the phone on his computer.


Hoffner returned to the IT department several times to retrieve his pictures. Jeffries discovered the videos while reviewing the back-up data to return the pictures to Hoffner. Jeffries, in turn, told his supervisor, Bryan Schneider, of the phone's contents according to the criminal complaint.

Hoffner’s bail was set at $10,000 with the provision that he cannot see his children without other adults present. Bail without conditions is set at $40,000, reported The Free Press.

Hoffner will appear in court next on August 30.